Christmas Shopping and Freedom
by CopperCow
Summary: One-Shot, Companion piece to A Family Reunited, implied SB/RL, How Sirius got Harry and Kim's Christmas presents. PoA


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

Sirius found himself breaking into Remus's house yet again. This time, he was proud to say that he wasn't here to steal what little food he could, but for the benefit of their godchildren. Sirius was ashamed to admit that for 'the benefit of their godchildren' that he had stolen quite a bit. He even stooped so low as to stealing a little from Snivellus. But today, it all would pay off. Today, he was going to buy Harry and Kim their first presents from him in almost thirteen years.

Strolling over to Remus's bedroom, Sirius grabbed the final ingredient to the potion that he had been brewing in Moony's dingy cellar. He plucked a few hairs from an abandoned hairbrush and dropped them into Moony's Hogwarts cauldron, the last one anyway, considering the number that had melted throughout the years. He choked back laughter when the potion turned white_. Moony may be a neat freak, but he was not pure_, Sirius thought as he recalled their first night out drinking, legally drinking that is.

Pouring half into Remus's favorite coffee mug and the rest into a flask he stole from Dung, Sirius downed as much as he could of the Polyjuice potion that tasted like chocolate and smelled like old books, before he began to transform into Moony. Sirius felt himself shift and morph until he became the skinny, but not as skinny as a certain escapee, form of Moony. He took a look in a nearby mirror, sad to know that the first time he would be seeing the image of his Moony in over a decade was when Sirius himself was impersonating him. He even had to steal the man's clothes.

With a weary sigh, Sirius walked off the property of the Lupin cottage in Dufftown and apparated to Diagon Alley. Sirius was surprised that he felt so fearful being out in public, where people could see him. Mentally scolding himself, Sirius remembering that Marauders never feared getting caught, unless it was by a certain Minerva McGonagall. Straightening himself up, Sirius strode over to Gringotts.

Walking up to the front desk, Sirius produced a key that he found buried deep in a trunk of his old things that Remus threw in his dusty old cellar. With a mischievous smile that Sirius had never seen on Moony's face until a prank was set in motion, Sirius said with confidence, "My name is Remus Lupin, and I would like to make a withdrawal from my partner Sirius Black's account. He had stated about sixteen years ago that if he was ever unable to access it that I would be in charge of his accounts."

The goblin looked at him with disbelieving eyes. "I am well aware of that. However, you have not come here since his arrest." Griphook smiled like Snivellus did whenever he caught the Marauders up to no good. "If you would follow me to my personal office please."

Sirius gulped. This was it. He would be getting the Dementor's Kiss for Christmas. Still, he returned the smile and followed Griphook like nothing was wrong. If there was one thing that James had taught him, it was to never act guilty until the punishment was dished out. If only he had remembered that November 1st, 1981.

Griphook sank back into his chair and motioned for Sirius to do the same in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Sirius felt his eye began to twitch with anticipation as Griphook took the time to wipe off his glasses, put a few papers away, and put some quills and paperweights in its proper place on the desk. Finally, the goblin folded his hands and said, "You do know that Mr. Lupin has been using his own account through the mail since he has been teaching at Hogwarts and that a full moon is approaching us in a few days' time."

Sirius felt his eyes widen. "Yes, well, this is very important. Our, I mean my, godchildren…I wanted to replace the broom that was destroyed because of Sirius's escape."

Griphook simply waved off his words. "I am not going to turn you in, Mr. Black. I gave up on being concerned with the affairs of the wizarding world when they refused to believe me because I stated that the vaults did not recognize a certain Pettigrew's death. The vaults should have become his mother's, but they refused to change into her name, still do decline, as a matter of fact."

Sirius just sat there, gaping like a fish, opening and closing his mouth every few seconds to try to form words. Griphook gave him an impatient look. "I believe you requested to make a withdrawal in Mr. Lupin's name, Mr. Black."

* * *

While fighting through the Christmas crowd, Sirius fought the urge to transform into Padfoot as he took another gulp of Polyjuice. He was disappointed with himself. This was his first few moments of real freedom since his arrest, and he was afraid too even talk to people.

Sirius was just about to stop in Quality Quidditch Supplies when a familiar red haired man stopped him. "Ah, Remus. Didn't think I'd see you here."

Sirius blinked, trying to sound Remus-like. "Yes, well you see, um…" He was such a failure.

Arthur smiled. "It's nice to see that you're out and about again. Percy mentioned that you were teaching Defense. Molly was so happy. She was really worried about you, you know. No one's heard or seen much of you since Lily and James's funeral."

Feeling the wind knocked out of him and the color draining from his face, Sirius couldn't believe what he heard. For the first time, Sirius realized how lonely Remus must have been. He "betrayed" him, James and Lily were dead, Peter was "dead", and from the looks of things he has had no contact whatsoever with Harry or Kim. Remus was always shy so starting over after such a tragedy, even with people he knew well, would have been hard for most people and impossible for him. Still, Sirius had trouble understanding it. Remus had chosen to be alone for almost fifteen years.

He'd make it up to Remus, he just had to. All these years Sirius had been sulking in his own self-pity until the danger that Harry and Kim were facing snapped him out of it. Never once did he even fathom that his Moony would seclude himself like that. Sirius sighed sadly, knowing that Moony wouldn't accept anything from him this year, but hopefully, there would be many more Christmases together to come. He jumped when Arthur touched his shoulder. "Take things one step at a time. They would want you to be happy, you know." Sirius nodded, and Arthur walked off.

* * *

Sirius stared in awe at the Firebolt in Quality Quidditch supplies. He knew from the moment he set foot in the store that he would settle for no less for his godson. All of the other broomsticks paled in comparison. The shopkeeper eyed Moony's robes suspiciously. Voice dripping with sarcasm, he asked, "Can I help you, sir?"

Feeling his blood boil, Sirius calmly answered in a very Moony-like way. "Ah, yes. I would like to make a purchase today."

The shopkeeper smirked, but his eyes bulged out of his head when Sirius enlarged a trunk filled with gold and slammed it on the front desk. Sirius smiled evilly. "I'd like to buy a Firebolt today. Could you count the money quickly? I'm in a bit of a rush."

Sirius couldn't help but wish Moony was here to see his victory as he strolled out of the store. He hated when people would make fun of Moony because of his clothes and always wondered why Remus would never let him buy him new robes. No matter how often Moony said that it happened so much that it didn't bother him anymore, Sirius never believed him. No matter how often Sirius's parents berated him in public as a kid, it always had bothered him.

Now Sirius struggled to try to find something for Kim. He knew her much better than Harry, but still thought of the perfect gift for him and always drew a blank when thinking about what to get her. If only she had conveniently told Snowball what she wanted for Christmas, but Sirius supposed that would have been too easy. How was he supposed to know what girls liked? Sure, he dated a few back in his school days, but treated them like dirt because they weren't really who he wanted. Sirius looked at the names of all the stores around him. Lily liked dresses and books, but Kim wasn't Lily just like Harry wasn't James, and Sirius had a feeling that Remus would give him a long lecture for even thinking so.

He stopped when he saw the Stone Oven Bakery. Sirius at least knew that Kim loved sweets. When she was a baby, she and Remus were chocolate buddies. Lily used to complain that Remus would turn Kim into an overly chubby baby that would turn into a chubby kid and later on a chubby teenager and adult. Sirius could still hear James hoping that that would keep the boys away, and Lily ranting for hours that people of all sizes deserved love while James guiltily listened, trying to say that he was sorry and didn't mean it like that. He threw his head back and laughed as he walked into the bakery.

The women at the counter gave him an odd look before smiling warmly and asking, "Can I help you, sir?" She sounded nothing like the man in Quality Quidditch Supplies and genuinely seemed pleased to have him in her store.

Sirius looked around the bakery, again unsure of what to get. "I'm looking for something for my goddaughter. I haven't seen her in quite a while so I'm not entirely sure what to get her." Sirius hoped he didn't reveal too much, but the woman was so kind that he found himself trusting her completely.

She nodded in understanding. "I only see my niece during the holidays too. This year she brought me a new recipe that a friend from school taught her. They're called snowball cookies. Maybe your goddaughter would like them?"

Sirius blinked a few times before laughing manically like Kim did when she figured out what to get Malfoy. The baker nervously laughed with him, only causing Sirius to laugh harder. After a few moments, Sirius wiped his eyes and said, "I'll take the biggest box you got."

* * *

Thinking about stopping in the Leaky Cauldron for a drink, Sirius checked his watch. He still had about twenty minutes before he had to go bribe Dung to mail the gifts for him and about fifteen minutes before the potion wore off. Before he thought about starting off with firewhisky or butterbeer, Sirius realized he had the fastest broom in the world shrunken in his pocket. He stopped in the alley way that led to Knockturn Alley and enlarged the broom. Sirius was sure Harry wouldn't mind, considering that he didn't know that it was his yet and any fellow Quidditch lover would understand.

Sirius mounted the broom and took off, hiding behind clouds and soaring as high as he could so muggles wouldn't see him. He yelled out in happiness and felt his vision blur and his hair blowing furiously at the speed of the Firebolt. Sirius knew now that he was wrong when he was trying to keep calm in Diagon Alley. This was true freedom.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I never read any fics that explained how Sirius got the Firebolt, even though I'm sure they're out there. I always wondered how he was able to make such a huge withdrawal without anyone saying anything to him or alerting the authorities…Anyway, if this is the first story of mine you read, please read the main one! It'll clear up why Sirius thought the snowball cookies were so funny. Please R&R!**


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